List_of_college_nickname_changes_in_the_United_States

List of college nickname changes in the United States

List of college nickname changes in the United States

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In the United States, most universities and colleges that sponsor athletics programs have adopted an official nickname for its associated teams. Often, these nicknames have changed for any number of reasons, which might include a change in the name of the school itself, a term becoming dated or otherwise changing meaning, or changes in racial perceptions and sensitivities. In the case of the latter, many schools have recently deprecated nicknames that some might consider offensive to American Indians, a group that has been a traditional inspiration for athletic teams.

Changes

Changes of women's team nicknames only

  • Austin Peay Governors – Historically, women's teams had been "Lady Govs", but all teams became "Governors" no later than the 2015–16 school year.
  • Baylor Bears – Historically, women's teams had been "Lady Bears". By the end of the 2010s, most teams had dropped "Lady" from the nickname, and the last three holdouts of basketball, soccer, and volleyball did the same for the 2021–22 school year.[140][141]
  • Colorado Buffaloes — Women's teams were the "Lady Buffs" until 1993, when the school announced it would adopt the men's nickname for all teams.
  • Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds — Women's teams were the "Zias" from the establishment of women's sports at the school in the 1970s until 2015, when the school announced it would adopt the men's nickname for all teams.
  • Kentucky Wildcats — Women's teams, except for gymnastics, were the "Lady Kats" until 1995, when the school announced it would adopt the men's nickname for all teams. The gymnastics team continued to use its historic nickname of "Gym Kats" for a number of years before abandoning it in favor of Wildcats.[citation needed]
  • New Mexico State Aggies — Women's athletic teams were known as the "Roadrunners" until 2000, following a vote by female athletes to adopt the same nickname as the men's teams.[142]
  • Tarleton Texans — The school's first varsity women's teams played under the men's nickname of "Texans" in the 1968–69 school year, but female athletes expressed a desire for a distinctive nickname, and the women's nickname was changed the following year—although the spellings of "Texanns", "Tex-Anns", and "TexAnns" were all used before the "TexAnns" spelling was adopted in 1972. During the 2018–19 school year, two players and a student manager in the women's basketball program began a campaign to return the women's nickname to "Texans", and after receiving overwhelming support from other female athletes, the school approved the change effective in 2019–20.[143][144]
  • Tennessee Volunteers — In November 2014, the university announced that after the 2014–15 school year, only women's basketball would retain the Lady Volunteers nickname. At that time, all other women's teams became simply Volunteers.[145] This change was reversed during the 2017–18 school year, with all women's teams once again allowed to use "Lady Volunteers" if they so wish.
  • University of Utah Gymnastics team no longer uses "Utes", instead as "Utah Red Rocks"[citation needed]
  • Washburn Ichabods — Women's teams were known as "Lady Blues" until 2013, when the school announced that women's teams would adopt the men's nickname.
  • Western Illinois Leathernecks —Women's teams were known as "Westerwinds" until 2009, when they adopted the men's nickname of Leathernecks.
  • A number of schools historically used the "Lady" prefix for all women's teams, but now have a policy of using "Lady" only in sports that have both men's and women's teams. Schools that have this policy include:

As a result of a school name change or merger

  • Binghamton Bearcats – Before adopting its current nickname in 2000, the school now legally known as the State University of New York at Binghamton and branded since 1992 as Binghamton University changed its nickname twice, each time corresponding with a change in the school's name:
    • Originally, the school was a satellite of Syracuse University known as Triple Cities College, and had no nickname. When it became independent from Syracuse in 1950, it adopted the name of Harpur College and the nickname "Donkeys".[citation needed]
    • When Harpur joined the State University of New York system in 1965 and adopted its current legal name, the school nickname changed to "Colonials".[citation needed]
  • Case Western Reserve Spartans – Before the schools merged, Case Institute of Technology used the nicknames of the "Scientists" (1918–1938) and the "Rough Riders (1930–1971). Western Reserve was known as the "Pioneers" (1921–1928) and the "Red Cats" (1928–1971).[146] While the schools merged in 1967, the undergraduate student bodies (and athletic departments) were separate until 1971, and during the transition, Western Reserve used the athletic identity of its undergraduate arm, Adelbert College.
  • Cleveland State Vikings – Fenn College used the nickname of the "Foxes" until the school was renamed in 1965.
  • Coastal Carolina Chanticleers – When Coastal was founded in 1954 as a junior college, the school's nickname was "Trojans". It adopted its current nickname shortly after becoming a part of the University of South Carolina in 1960, due to a desire for a nickname more compatible with the "Gamecocks" of its parent. The nickname remained even after Coastal became an independent institution in 1993.
  • Colorado State Rams – Colorado A&M used the nickname of the "Aggies".[147]
  • Lewis & Clark Pioneers – used the nickname "Pirates" from 1919 to 1938 when the school was known as Albany College.[148]
  • LIU Sharks – Established in 2019 when Long Island University merged its two previous NCAA athletic programs—the Division I LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and Division II LIU Post Pioneers. Only the athletic programs merged; the Brooklyn and Post campuses are separately accredited and remain in operation. The Sharks inherited the Division I membership of the Brooklyn campus.
  • Maryland Terrapins – Maryland Agricultural College used the nickname of the "Aggies" and the "Farmers". The school was renamed Maryland State College in 1916 and the University of Maryland in 1920.
  • Michigan State Spartans – Michigan Agricultural College used the nickname of the "Aggies" alongside unofficial nicknames of the "Fighting Farmers" and "Farmers" until 1925.[72]
  • Milwaukee Panthers – The institution through which the current University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee traces its history, originally the Wisconsin State Normal School and after several name changes Wisconsin State College–Milwaukee, used "Green Gulls" as its nickname until 1956. At that time, it merged with the University of Wisconsin's graduate extension campus in Milwaukee to form UW–Milwaukee, with the nickname changing to "Cardinals".
  • Mississippi State Bulldogs – Mississippi A&M changed its nickname from the "Aggies" to the "Maroons" when the school was renamed Mississippi State College in 1932. In 1961, the school was renamed Mississippi State University and the nickname was changed to the "Bulldogs".[77]
  • NC State Wolfpack – North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (North Carolina A&M) was known as the "Aggies" or "Farmers". The school changed its name to the current North Carolina State University in 1917.[149]
  • North Georgia Nighthawks – In January 2013, North Georgia College & State University, nicknamed "Saints" and "Lady Saints", was merged with Gainesville State College, a two-year technical school with no athletic program, to create the University of North Georgia. The new school adopted the nickname of "Nighthawks" for all teams.
  • UConn Huskies – Connecticut Agricultural College used the nickname "Aggies". The school was renamed Connecticut State College in 1933,[150] and the following year, the "Huskies" nickname was adopted.
  • UMass Lowell River Hawks – The University of Lowell, itself the product of a 1971 merger between Lowell State College and the Lowell Technological Institute, used "Chiefs" as its nickname before it was absorbed into the University of Massachusetts system in 1991.
  • UT Southern FireHawks – In 2021, Martin Methodist College, nicknamed "RedHawks", sold its campus to the University of Tennessee system, becoming the University of Tennessee Southern.
  • UTRGV Vaqueros – In November 2014, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which began full operation in July 2015 with the merger of the University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA) and University of Texas at Brownsville, announced that the nickname of the new school would be Vaqueros. The pre-merger UTPA Broncs became the UTRGV athletic program after the merger.[151]

Junior colleges

See also


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